“They want to run the ball,” the Patriots’ defensive lineman said Thursday. “They want to be able to be a physical football team. They want to be able to control the clock. They want to be able to make plays and most of their plays come on the run.

“They ran the ball against the Colts (in a 35-9 romp of Indianapolis last Sunday), I don’t know how many times, but it was a lot and you can just tell that’s the way they want to play. So, defensively, we have to be up for that challenge.

“We’re not going to run from anyone. We know what it’s going to be. Shonn Greene, he’s a helluva back, and their offensive line’s big, they’re physical, that’s how they want to play. We have to be able to match that and we’ve been doing a good job of that, but we have to continue to get better individually, raise our level of play, and you go from there.”

With Greene posting career highs with 32 carries for 161 yards and matching his personal best with three touchdowns, the Jets ran away from the Colts last week, allowing the New York to limit quarterback Mark Sanchez’s throws to 18, which is precisely the way a team that’s ranked 15th in the NFL in rushing and 30th in passing would like to play the game.

Greene won’t be the Jets’ lone backfield option on Sunday. Coach Rex Ryan admitted on Thursday that it’s a “possibility” that quarterback Tim Tebow will also be used at running back.

“That’s a possibility,” Ryan told reporters at Jets’ headquarters. “The thing about Tim – with him being a football player like we’ve always talked about – by playing quarterback, he knows all the positions. So, can you plug him in at running back? Can you plug him in at tight end or whatever?

“I think the answer is yes.”

Whoever carries the ball for the Jets on Sunday against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium, the player Wilfork views as his opponent’s “bread and butter” is in the middle of the Jets’ line, four-time Pro Bowler Nick Mangold.

While an ankle injury has kept Mangold out of practice this week, Wilfork made it clear that he fully expects to see him on Sunday.

“He’s probably the best center, I believe, and I’ve been saying that ever since the guy’s been a rookie,” said Wilfork. “He’s pretty steady for them and it hasn’t changed. Everything, it seems like, goes through him: running game, calling the plays on the line slides, he’s the guy in charge. That’s how it should be because he’s their bread and butter.

Page 2 of 2 - “When they need a play, if they’re running the ball, it always seems to end up behind (No.) 74 so he’s a big-time player for them. I give him all the respect in the world (after) facing him numerous times. He’s one of the players that you wish you had a guy like that, 11 guys like that on the field at all times, because he just means so much to that team, and I think they understand.”

Practicing caution: In what appears to be a case of the Patriots erring on the side of caution, three players who were limited in practice on Wednesday sat out Thursday’s session: safety Steve Gregory (hip), tight end Aaron Hernandez (ankle) and guard Logan Mankins (calf/hip).

Defensive lineman Ron Brace was added to the participation report, practicing on a limited basis due to a back injury.